Garden designer Chris Fischer divided Linda Lipsett's 30-by-90-foot plot into three distinct zones—a large central area bookended by two smaller sections—and outfitted each with raised beds that allow better control over the soil quality. To create a feeling of enclosure, he and Lipsett filled most of the beds along the perimeter with climbers, such as watermelon, squash, and tomatoes.

Interior beds hold low-lying edibles, including lettuces, onions, and potatoes. For the most part, like crops are grouped, with a couple of exceptions: Parsley lives among asparagus so that the vegetable's ferns, which grow throughout the summer, can shade the delicate herb. And tomatoes are underplanted with basil to make harvesting the classic combo a breeze.